UEFA Champions League 2026/27 Season

[jakdanyel]

Talisca really amazes me lately. Maybe mostly from penalties but he is scoring in the end. He is playing as a CF temporarily but in this way he wouldn't lose his place there easily. 

Fenerbahçe scared me a little bit in the first half but thankfully didn't concede. Now we are going to face Lyon in the round just before league phase. Lyon is an opponent that we can beat now.

I hope to see a win by at least a 2-goal gap in İstanbul to have a big advantage before the 2nd leg...

[blomen]

in my opinion, the fenerbahçe lyon matchup was the strongest in ucl playoffs. there are also some teams i haven’t seen much of before, and it would be a shame if either fenerbahçe or lyon were eliminated by one of those teams. i’d love to see both teams in the champions league but it's not possible now. both fenerbahçe and lyon are strong teams, and i’d say their chances of advancing are pretty even.

fenerbahçe hasn’t participated in this tournament for years, and lyon is a strong team. that’s why fenerbahçe faces a tough challenge. but the transfers they’ve made look pretty good, so they might be able to advance.

[m4r1o]

The 3rd qualifying round is now concluded, there haven't been any major surprises, maybe except for Crvena Zvezda getting eliminated by Hapoel Beer-Sheva. NEC beating Olympiakos could also be seen as a surprise, but I see these two as being on a similar level.
Sparta Prague was unlucky to be drawn against Lyon, who was probably the strongest team in this phase of the competition. Sparta won the 1st leg but couldn't do much in the rematch. The early red card didn't help.

But I think it's fair to say that the most fierce battle was fought between Bodo/Glimt and USG. Both teams made it to the league phase last year and Bodo had a bit of a cinderella story when they eliminated Inter Milan in the play-offs.
Bodo is going through to the next stage as they beat USG 6-5 on aggregate, with the deciding goal beeing scored in the extra time.

Lyon is also trying to improve with some attacking signings. They are certainly one of the strongest teams and Slavia Prague were unlucky to take on Lyon, one of the most difficult teams to face in order to continue their journey. We will see how these matches will end and who will continue their journey.

[ZeroVinsonN]

Lyon are leading Sparta Prague 1–0 at home. Sparta Prague won the first leg 2–1, so they had the advantage, but the tie is now level.

The first half is over, and Sparta Prague are playing with 10 men after Adam Sevinsky was shown a red card in the 34th minute.
Things will be even more difficult for Sparta Prague in the remaining minutes.

I think Lyon will score at least one more goal and advance to the next round.

Lyon was able to use their opportunities to win the game 3-0, they started really well by scoring an early goal in the first half which gave them the motivation and the confidence to dominate the match, and when Sparta Prague’s player was sent off before the end of the first half, they were not as good as they used to be, they managed to hold the game till the second half.

After some substitution, Lyon had an opportunity and was able to score more hold to win the match for themselves. I am impressed with their performance because the first leg was a disgrace to them considering their Champions League experience.

Lyon will face Fenerbahçe in their playoff game, u hope they can be able to withstand them because they are both in the same level in my opinion; but the match will be very tough.

One of the worst things that can happen to a football team is to lose a player during the match and having to play with an incomplete team, if immediately puts them at a great disadvantage, the same thing happened during the world cup finals and there was effectively nothing Argentina could do to beat Spain, though I doubt they would have been able to win even with their full team but a red card in the middle of a match is never a good thing for the affected team.

Red card is part of the game but it disable a team if given in the middle of the game it only takes some good teams to win a match with a man down though i have watched several teams winning a game after given a red card, a red card is always an advantage to the other team that has a complete 11 players. Talking about Argentina red card in the world cup again Spain i wouldn't consider it to be affective to the Argentina team because even before the red card came they were not even in the game and the red card came when game was almost over.

The truth is that no team will ever want to play one man short even if they are the better team because no matter how we look at it playing one man short puts them at a disadvantage, it will take an overwhelming playing superiority to beat an 11 man team with a 10 man team especially if the red card came early in the game, if it came towards to end of the match then it can be done if they were already winning and maybe went defensive after losing one player.

[pewboy]

The only match I'm worried about is Fenerbahçe vs. Lyon.

We can already see Fenerbahce-Lyon as one of the big matches of this phase of the competition. It will certainly be a match, i hope, of a high level and very difficult to predict. i really don't know who to side with, because it's a game that could end in many ways. One of those matches that i wouldn't bet on because there really are multiple possibilities of results.

[aipercoin]

Fenerbahçe's attacking strength might not be enough against Lyon. Fenerbahçe's new signings are of great importance. How ready will Fenerbahçe be in two weeks time? If this round had come once the team had settled in, Fenerbahçe might have got through, but it's going to be tough now.

Fenerbahce is rebuilding the team and is certainly one of the favorites for the move. It certainly won't be easy against Lyon, because they lack all the main pieces of the offensive part of the team. A bit unfortunate for the period in which this match will have to be played, but i believe that the team will finish its construction at the end of the transfer window.

[Altryist]

Fenerbahce is rebuilding the team and is certainly one of the favorites for the move. It certainly won't be easy against Lyon, because they lack all the main pieces of the offensive part of the team. A bit unfortunate for the period in which this match will have to be played, but i believe that the team will finish its construction at the end of the transfer window.

Fenerbahce is indeed a very strong team, but I think they were unlucky with the draw, as Lyon is arguably one of the toughest opponents they could have faced at this stage. I believe their task of advancing to the next round is incredibly difficult, given that I consider Lyon the stronger side right now, I think Lyon will certainly win at home. As for Fenerbahce, they need to win their home match and score as many goals as possible. Sparta has already shown that Lyon performs worse in away games, so Fenerbahce must capitalize on their home field advantage.

[banana33]

Everyday, football is growing and so many teams are building and rising up to challenges. It's is never where is was. Football can never be as easy as it was with real Madrid or with any other team. If real Madrid don't fiercely, they will still fall short to other teams. PSG who won the UCL back to back recently knew what they faced before doing that. It wasn't easy for them with Arsenal. Arsenal on there other hand has done everything trying to win, but it wasn't easy. Look at Beyern Munich, they are still struggling to go down to the finals, even athletico Madrid, it hasn't been easy for anyone.

Jose Mourinho may bring sparks for the former Spain giants, but they have to put on there best performance to get to the top. They would has to first overcome there all time rivals Barcelona. Of course, themselves are also rebuilding and wants to remain at the top. We know Jose, he isn't a baby coach. He has his omw perfect tactics, his patters and the way he does things. We expect real Madrid to do better and be more competitive this season, but then, we can never be sure yet.

I think that no one can give a more incisive personality to this Real Madrid team better than Mourinho.
Also because if Real Madrid doesn't change their situation, they will have a season very similar to last year, without trophies.

So it so happens that Mourinho is the right coach at this moment to make the players understand the true soul of Real Madrid.

[Zackz5000]

Everyday, football is growing and so many teams are building and rising up to challenges. It's is never where is was. Football can never be as easy as it was with real Madrid or with any other team. If real Madrid don't fiercely, they will still fall short to other teams. PSG who won the UCL back to back recently knew what they faced before doing that. It wasn't easy for them with Arsenal. Arsenal on there other hand has done everything trying to win, but it wasn't easy. Look at Beyern Munich, they are still struggling to go down to the finals, even athletico Madrid, it hasn't been easy for anyone.

Jose Mourinho may bring sparks for the former Spain giants, but they have to put on there best performance to get to the top. They would has to first overcome there all time rivals Barcelona. Of course, themselves are also rebuilding and wants to remain at the top. We know Jose, he isn't a baby coach. He has his omw perfect tactics, his patters and the way he does things. We expect real Madrid to do better and be more competitive this season, but then, we can never be sure yet.

I think that no one can give a more incisive personality to this Real Madrid team better than Mourinho.
Also because if Real Madrid doesn't change their situation, they will have a season very similar to last year, without trophies.

So it so happens that Mourinho is the right coach at this moment to make the players understand the true soul of Real Madrid.

Mourinho has once been there as the team coach and during that time he did well and some trophy for the team, Real Madrid currently needs again and that is why they have him back, Alonzo who was the formal coach though he did end the season but was sack at the middle the league due to no improvement in the team. Mourinho is going to make a good impact and Real Madrid also needs some one like him Real Madrid should only be patient with him if he couldn't help the team win the Laliga trophy this season.

[Egii Nna]

Everyday, football is growing and so many teams are building and rising up to challenges. It's is never where is
Mourinho has once been there as the team coach and during that time he did well and some trophy for the team, Real Madrid currently needs again and that is why they have him back, Alonzo who was the formal coach though he did end the season but was sack at the middle the league due to no improvement in the team. Mourinho is going to make a good impact and Real Madrid also needs some one like him Real Madrid should only be patient with him if he couldn't help the team win the Laliga trophy this season.

There have been many improvements in coaching, tactics and Football in general since when Mourinho last coach Real Madrid in 2013, he can still win some trophies for Madrid though but you cannot compare to when he was at Madrid before and expect much from him.

Under Xabi Alonso, Real Madrid started the season well but they got issues with last of consistency and lost the Supercopa final to Barcelona and he got sacked after the game and Real Madrid need an immediate result after going trophyless again, that is why they signed Mourinho, so if his performance with this squad is not up to that standard to be able to win trophies this season, then you can not expect them to have patience with him.

[changaa]

We defeated Sturm Graz in the second leg as well and advanced to the play-off round. Thanks to this play-off round, the Champions League anthem will be heard in Kadıköy, Istanbul, after a long hiatus.
It is a piece of music we have yearned for for years ?

Our opponent is Lyon. We have faced Lyon in the past, and they clearly demonstrated their superiority on those occasions.

Lyon is not the force they once were this year; the club has been grappling with financial crises since last season.
They remain a strong team, but this time around, Fenerbahçe is playing good football too.

I believe we will get past Lyon this year and qualify for the Champions League.
Even if we don't, the UEFA Europa League would actually be better for us, because our primary and most important goal is winning the Turkish league title.

The Fenerbahce boys deserved it. Lyon are strong but not like they used to be, they will be able to compete. Fenerbahce have a good team and are playing well. It will be a great challenge to play against Lyon to qualify for the Champions League, if it goes badly we will have the chance to win the UEFA Europa League, is always a good achievement. They will aim to win the Turkish championship.

[Nightwatchmare]

Is the current Barcelona squad as strong as the Barcelona of the past? Does the current Inter squad match up to their squad of the past? How about Manchester United? How about Juventus? I can go ahead and mention teams whose current squad is not as strong as their past squad, but that is not the point.

The point is you saying the current Madrid squad is weak. That is absurd. Madrid has one of the best squads in Europe right now. In Europe right now, can you mention more than three teams that have a better squad than Madrid? Inter, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Man City, Arsenal- they all don't have a better individual squad than Real Madrid. Madrid may lack a DM or CM, but that doesn't mean they have a weak squad. They have a very good squad. In fact, individually, is there any team in Europe that has a better attack than Madrid right now? A team with Vinicius, Mbappe and now Diomandé, a midfield of Tchouameni, Valverde and Bellingham, a defense of Konate, Rudiger, Arnold, Cucurella, with Courtois as goalkeeper, yet you say they have a weak squad?

All the teams that had strong squads in the past, their current squads are not as strong as their past squads, and just like you said, you can mention plenty of teams that is in the category if you decide to mention more teams because that is the reality in football. No doubt Real Madrid has a great individual players right now, and people are expecting them to re-write their story in the season ahead, but i think it is too early to say that Real Madrid has the best squad in Europe as no-one is certain if Jose Mourinho would end Barcelona dominance with the squad. If i were you, i will wait to see how the current squad of Real Madrid will perform to know if they are thoroughly the best squad in Europe.

[kennycryptoitalia]

I followed the Fenerbahçe match because a Turkish team was involved, and our representative advanced to the next round.
Among the other fixtures, I also watched the game between NEC Nijmegen and Olympiacos. I had expected Olympiacos to advance comfortably, but they were eliminated yesterday. They took a 1-0 lead in the final minute of the first half, but conceded a goal in the 70th minute of the second half.
That in itself wasn't a disaster, but Fortounis received a red card following a VAR review. This card disrupted the team's system; Olympiacos ultimately lost the match 2-1 in extra time and bowed out of the competition.

In my opinion, this was one of the surprise results of the round; the team that won the UEFA Europa League two years ago has been eliminated. If they don't get off to a good start in the league and suffer consecutive dropped points, they will likely part ways with manager Mendilibar.

It was a strange match, i didn't expect the elimination of Olymiacos, NEC Nijmegen played a good match. Of course the red card helped. They must not lose points in the championship otherwise it will be a disaster and the coach could risk being sacked earlier than expected.

[Jaycoinz]

Everyday, football is growing and so many teams are building and rising up to challenges. It's is never where is
Mourinho has once been there as the team coach and during that time he did well and some trophy for the team, Real Madrid currently needs again and that is why they have him back, Alonzo who was the formal coach though he did end the season but was sack at the middle the league due to no improvement in the team. Mourinho is going to make a good impact and Real Madrid also needs some one like him Real Madrid should only be patient with him if he couldn't help the team win the Laliga trophy this season.

There have been many improvements in coaching, tactics and Football in general since when Mourinho last coach Real Madrid in 2013. He can still win some trophies for Madrid, but you cannot compare him to when he was at Madrid before and expect much from him.

Winning a title during pre-season doesn't necessarily guarantee that there is improvement in the club. I have seen so many cases where a club gets to perform extremely well during the pre-season matches and then turns out to be trashed when the main time comes to show that work ethic and improvement.

Jose Mourinho is a legend when it comes to football managers, and a whole lot is expected of him, especially since Real Madrid has been trophy-less for two seasons now, the main idea is to get them a major trophy and possibly the champions league so every bit of improvements will be needed in that Real Madrid camp.

[AHOYBRAUSE]

The Fenerbahce boys deserved it. Lyon are strong but not like they used to be, they will be able to compete. Fenerbahce have a good team and are playing well. It will be a great challenge to play against Lyon to qualify for the Champions League, if it goes badly we will have the chance to win the UEFA Europa League, is always a good achievement. They will aim to win the Turkish championship.

To be fair, these teams will most likely only be the point delivery guys for the big players, plain and simple. Teams like Real, Barca, PSG, Bayern and the big teams from the UK don't really lose points against those "smaller" teams, that's why I still don't like the "new" UCL format with too many games and the big table. I mean when you see some teams getting destroyed every week, where is the fun to watch that? Same as with the world cup obviously.
Football is basically destroying itself and that's why I stopped watching years ago.

[Iamgoat]

I think that no one can give a more incisive personality to this Real Madrid team better than Mourinho.
Also because if Real Madrid doesn't change their situation, they will have a season very similar to last year, without trophies.

So it so happens that Mourinho is the right coach at this moment to make the players understand the true soul of Real Madrid.

If Real Madrid had brought another person rather than Mourinho I would have been a bit comfortable with them. Especially if they have brought a younger manager. Not because young managers can not manage them but it is quite obvious they have a stubborn squad of players with attitude which requires a more experienced manager to handle them. I like the team for one thing. They know the value of the Madrid position as a big club they are but they are also allowing such thing to affect them in their delivery which affected their performance last season, now having Mourinho to manage the team also means they will be serious and more aggressive this time and I hope such aggressiveness will translate to more result driven outing for them.

[Arenga pinnata]

Talisca really amazes me lately. Maybe mostly from penalties but he is scoring in the end. He is playing as a CF temporarily but in this way he wouldn't lose his place there easily. 

Fenerbahçe scared me a little bit in the first half but thankfully didn't concede. Now we are going to face Lyon in the round just before league phase. Lyon is an opponent that we can beat now.

I hope to see a win by at least a 2-goal gap in İstanbul to have a big advantage before the 2nd leg...

Since last season, he has certainly been in the spotlight, especially in the Turkish Super League. I’ve been following this player ever since he played for Al-Nassr, where he was also one of the key players. I’m impressed that he’s managed to remain a standout player at Fenerbahçe as well. and scoring a goal on a penalty kick is always a great achievement, because we know the pressure of taking a penalty kick is always immense.

But to be honest I think Lyon will be a tough opponent. Fenerbahçe is a pretty strong team. However, Lyon is just as strong.
Still, I’m hoping Fenerbahçe wins, even though I wouldn’t actually dare to bet on them.

[Dunamisx]

If Real Madrid had brought another person rather than Mourinho I would have been a bit comfortable with them. Especially if they have brought a younger manager.

Mourinho, who has so many years of experience in this field also has the capacity to deliver, at least he has some success record over the past in his previous teams, so we wouldn't want to only conclude and judge by age in this, for a manager to deliver does not determine whether he's younger of older, everything has to do with the professionalism and strategy in handling a team which a manager should possess.

[Shadiq]

To be fair, these teams will most likely only be the point delivery guys for the big players, plain and simple. Teams like Real, Barca, PSG, Bayern and the big teams from the UK don't really lose points against those "smaller" teams, that's why I still don't like the "new" UCL format with too many games and the big table. I mean when you see some teams getting destroyed every week, where is the fun to watch that? Same as with the world cup obviously.
Football is basically destroying itself and that's why I stopped watching years ago.

These formations are liked by some and disliked by others. I mainly prefer tournaments with more teams. This increases the popularity of the league and spreads the atmosphere. It is true that small teams only come to give some points to the big teams. But there are some small teams that show their strength and make themselves known as emerging teams.

Last season Bodø/Glimt was the team that won some surprising matches, as was Cabo Verde in the World Cup. Fenerbahçe is still playing well, with Lukaku added, they can do something good in the upcoming Champions League season. Maybe something good can be expected from the Turkish teams in the upcoming season, Trabzonspor also looks strong after Salah's addition. Now let's see if these small teams can surprise us by beating the big teams in the upcoming season.

[Gost ms]

Lyon are leading Sparta Prague 1–0 at home. Sparta Prague won the first leg 2–1, so they had the advantage, but the tie is now level.

The first half is over, and Sparta Prague are playing with 10 men after Adam Sevinsky was shown a red card in the 34th minute.
Things will be even more difficult for Sparta Prague in the remaining minutes.

I think Lyon will score at least one more goal and advance to the next round.

Lyon was able to use their opportunities to win the game 3-0, they started really well by scoring an early goal in the first half which gave them the motivation and the confidence to dominate the match, and when Sparta Prague’s player was sent off before the end of the first half, they were not as good as they used to be, they managed to hold the game till the second half.

After some substitution, Lyon had an opportunity and was able to score more hold to win the match for themselves. I am impressed with their performance because the first leg was a disgrace to them considering their Champions League experience.

Lyon will face Fenerbahçe in their playoff game, u hope they can be able to withstand them because they are both in the same level in my opinion; but the match will be very tough.

One of the worst things that can happen to a football team is to lose a player during the match and having to play with an incomplete team, if immediately puts them at a great disadvantage, the same thing happened during the world cup finals and there was effectively nothing Argentina could do to beat Spain, though I doubt they would have been able to win even with their full team but a red card in the middle of a match is never a good thing for the affected team.

Red card is part of the game but it disable a team if given in the middle of the game it only takes some good teams to win a match with a man down though i have watched several teams winning a game after given a red card, a red card is always an advantage to the other team that has a complete 11 players. Talking about Argentina red card in the world cup again Spain i wouldn't consider it to be affective to the Argentina team because even before the red card came they were not even in the game and the red card came when game was almost over.

The truth is that no team will ever want to play one man short even if they are the better team because no matter how we look at it playing one man short puts them at a disadvantage, it will take an overwhelming playing superiority to beat an 11 man team with a 10 man team especially if the red card came early in the game, if it came towards to end of the match then it can be done if they were already winning and maybe went defensive after losing one player.

These matches are not against small teams or my small team that they will win even if they play with 10 players. These matches are against all the quality players and teams. In this match, if a player plays a little badly, then the impact on the team is very big and the chances of losing are much higher. In that case, if a team has 10 players or has to play with 10 players, then their chances of losing are much higher. No team would ever want to play with 10 players.